Guncrime figures released by the Home Office yesterday show that Merseyside had an eight per cent decrease in guncrime between April 05 and March 06, compared to the same period the previous year.

The decrease came in the same year that the specialist Force Matrix team was set up in a bid to combat gang related crime including guncrime.

The Home Office has also released figures for the last quarter of 2006 (Oct-Dec) compared to the same period in 2005 and these figures show a reduction in guncrime of 13 per cent.

Detective Superintendent Ian Kemble, who heads up the Matrix reactive guncrime team, Embar, explained: "Guncrime is a serious issue for any Metropolitan area and this Force is doing a great deal to address it.

“When Chief Constable Bernard Hogan-Howe joined Merseyside Police in September 2004, he ordered an immediate review of the issue. As a result, a long-term strategy was put in place and, at the beginning of 2005, the Matrix Team was created.

"As part of the overall crackdown on guncrime, a great deal of our work is focused on gang and drug-related criminality, which is often the catalyst for firearms activity. The Matrix is continuing to develop as we build on the good work we have already achieved. Operation Embar, the reactive investigation arm of the Matrix firearms team, was put in to place last year and the pro-active work being carried out by this team has led to a significant number of firearms being taken off the streets of Merseyside.


"In the first quarter of this year alone 26 firearms (not including imitations, air guns, bb guns etc) were taken off the streets as a result of proactive work by officers from Merseyside Police.

"This success has helped public confidence in the police to grow and is encouraging some members of our communities to provide information in relation to gun crime. This, in turn, is vital to our continued success in disrupting criminal activity.”

The guncrime figures for the calendar year (April 2004– March 2005) are as follows:

- No of incidents 552
- No guncrime murders 8
- No of attempted guncrime murders 17

The figures and reductions for the following year (April 2005 – March 2006) are:

- No of guncrime incidents 508 (eight per cent reduction)
- No of guncrime murders 1 (88 per cent reduction)
- No attempted guncrime murders 15 (12 per cent reduction)